Sony Classics Picks Up North American Rights For JODOROWSKY'S DUNE

Good news for anyone looking forward to seeing Frank Pavich's documentary Jodorowsky's Dune. Sony Pictures Classics has picked up the North American rights for the film, which reminisces about the Chilean director's attempt to adapt Frank Herbert's classic sci fi novel to the big screen back in the mid-70s.

The project had considerable talent involved at the time. Orson Welles, David Carradine, and Mick Jagger were attached to star. Pink Floyd was enlisted to create the soundtrack. And the creative juices of H.R. Giger and Jean 'Moebius' Giraud were going to be tapped for art design.

Alas, after two years of pre-production, the project was shut down and it became a wistful fantasy that danced in the minds of devoted fans, but not spoken of in an official capacity, until now.

Our own Ryland Aldrich caught the doc when it played in Cannes as part of the Director's Fortnight section. In his review he had this to say:

It is very clear that had Jodorowsky never attempted to make Dune, the landscape of sci-fi filmmaking over the following decades would have suffered greatly. It's also clear that we are all the better for Frank Pavich's wonderful contribution of Jodorowsky's Dune.

The doc was produced by Donald Rosenfeld, Frank Pavich, Stephen Scarlata, and Travis Stevens. No word yet on what Sony's release strategy will be.